NEW YORK -- So what do you get when you take Major League Baseball's two most prolific homer-hitting teams and put them in two of the game's more homer-friendly ballparks?
Stay tuned. You're about to get your answer.
No World Series matchup this decade has featured two teams with as many regular-season home runs hit as the '09 Yankees and Phillies. New York's 244 homers this season were the most in the Majors, trailed by the Phillies' 224, which ranked second among all 30 teams.
So if chicks really do dig the long ball -- as that late '90s Nike commercial suggested -- this could definitely be their series.
"Hopefully we can hit more than them," laughed Johnny Damon, who hit a career-high 24 home runs this season. "But you have to deal with the pitchers. These pitchers know how to deal in the postseason. They don't give in too much. Hopefully on our side we can hit a lot of home runs, but these ballparks could play well for both teams."
The numbers certainly suggest that the Fall Classic will see its share of balls leaving the park over the next week. The combined 468 home runs hit by the Phillies and Yankees this season total the most of any two teams meeting in the World Series this millennium. The Red Sox and Cardinals (2004) had owned the previous high of 436.
And in that same time span, never has each league's top home run-hitting team advanced to the World Series. Until this year.
"I think they're very similar lineups," Yankees Game 1 starter CC Sabathia said. "These guys in our clubhouse swing the bat. I've been saying that all year. I'm pretty sure that's the same way it's been in Philly. They're a tough lineup to deal with, just basically an American League lineup. It's just going to be a fun series."
Well, we'll see if the pitchers are saying that after it's all over.
Two teams built around potent lineups alone provide ample intrigue and certainly incentive for fans not to turn off the TV too early. But then, of course, there are also these two ballparks to contend with.
It took just days for hitters to fall in love with Yankee Stadium, which saw 83 balls leave the park in the stadium's first 23 games. Though that pace declined as the season went on, the 237 home runs hit in New York's newest jewel were the most in any ballpark this season. And it figures that ranking third in that list was Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, in which 207 home runs were hit.
That inflation in home run numbers was obviously aided by the dynamic of the home team's lineup. But the dimensions certainly played to hitters' advantages as well.
So could this be a postseason defined by power over pitching?
"It could if people are leaving pitches up," answered Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, who hit a team-high 45 homers this year. "I don't think people have the mindset of going up here trying to hit home runs and doing all that. We'll just go out there swinging the bat and trying to get runs whatever way we can. If we hit home runs, hey, we'll take it."
However, before getting a box of tape measures out, it's worth pointing out that pitching typically reigns in the postseason. Sure, the cold weather often keeps balls from flying as far at this time of the year, so that could partially be to blame. But more elementary than that is simply the fact that teams that make it this far do so largely on the backs of their pitching staffs.
That's precisely why Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira shrugged off the suggestion that this series will be won with home runs.
"I wouldn't expect it," he said. "We have two very good pitching staffs. In the playoffs, there just aren't a ton of slugfests. There are a lot more pitchers' duels than home run derbies."
Added Yankees manager Joe Girardi: "You take what comes. A lot of times in playoff baseball you see a lot of one-run, two-run close games."
Of the six starting pitchers scheduled to pitch in Games 1-3, four averaged less than one home run allowed per nine innings this season. And remember, this comes with all of them pitching in hitter-friendly parks. And in fact, Andy Pettitte, Pedro Martinez and Cliff Lee have all at one point in their careers led the league with fewest home runs allowed per nine innings. In other words, don't discount the potential of these staffs neutralizing the lineups' power.
Still, there's no ignoring the fact that when these two teams met at Yankee Stadium back in May, a combined 12 home runs were hit. Perhaps that was just a prelude for the showcase to come.
"You never know what's going to happen until you go out there," Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez said. "They are both potent lineups and both staffs are good pitching staffs. I wouldn't say that I expect in a series like this for there to be a lot of homers. But both lineups are quality lineups."
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
News
